UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, December 31, 2022
1:00PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews:
Duquesne Fan Forum
After a 13-day break, the University of Rhode Island (in theory) tipoff A10 play in Pittsburgh to take on the Duquesne Dukes. The Dules will already have begun conference play by the time this game happens as they are playing in Dayton on the 28th. Duquesne had an abysmal record in conference play last year, losing their last 16 A10 games. I am guessing that only thing going for coach Keith Dambrot from losing his job over the summer was the Dukes had some season ending injuries & they were 355th of 358 for “most experienced” college team. Duquesne is picked to finish last in the A10 this season, just behind La Salle.
Duquesne went a solid 10-3 during their out of conference schedule this season which includes a home win against DePaul. Their strength of schedule is very similar to Rhody’s (272 & 276 respectively) which is in the lower quartile. They did play at Kentucky where they got rolled by 25 & former Ram Jacob Toppin went for 8/8/3 in a poor shooting night.
Dae Dae Grant, the Miami OH transfer, leads this team in scoring with almost 18 per game which is good for top 70 in the country. He has scored in double figures in all but one game (Kentucky) & has scored 20+ in almost half of their games (6 of 13). The Rams will need to play tough defense on him as soon as he crosses half court cause Grant is an excellent three-point shooter. He is shooting it over 43% has as many made threes as the URI starting lineup. The only other double-digit scorer on the Dukes is Jimmy Clark III who is a junior college transfer from Northwest Florida where he won the NJCAA National Championship. Running the point on this team is Tevin Brewer. This undersize transfer from FIU takes care of the ball with only one turnover per game. The Dukes as a team do well not turning it over, with only 11 per game (Rhody averages 15 per game).
Rhody is looking to put their disappointing second half performance against Georgia State behind them. Ish is looking to rebound after having his worst game of the season. He played sparingly in the first game due to being in foul trouble & it was the only game this season he didn’t score 10 or more on just 2 of 8 shooting. Hopefully Bilau will be back for this game. They need all the help they can get in the frontcourt. The Dukes have some height in Austin Rotroff & Tre Williams is a bit undersized but does a solid job grabbing boards.
If you need to open conference play on the road, Duquesne is the team you want to start with; but you need to keep in mind the Rams have lost 3 straight at Duquesne. Two of those three loses were by 2 points & in the 2020-21 season they played Duquesne twice, both on the road. Can Rhody shake off the rust & close out 2022 with a win? Thankfully Duquesne has no home court advantage as they will be playing in front of about 1500 fans at best. Do the Rams have enough to get the road win against a crappy Duquesne team? Uggggh…I am not so sure. I am guessing the Dukes will be favored by a few points. I think/hope Duquesne’s conference play losing streak continues. Insert fingers crossed emoji. My prediction is URI 68 – Duquesne 66. Happy Holidays & Go Rhody!!
PS. If this game sucks, you can switch over to the women’s team who are playing at home against Duquesne at the same time on YurView/ESPN+. I for one will have both games going on 2 TVs. Which game will get the big TV with the sound on is yet to be decided.
Opponent
Record:
10-3, 0-0 in the A10
6-24, 1-16 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 123 (269)
RPI: 112 (268)
KenPom: 117 (203)
BPI: 162 (248)
Sagarin: 144 (205)
Barttovik: 89 (229)
Leaders:
Points – Dae Dae Grant 17.9 (Jr., G)
Rebounds – Austin Rotroff 6.8 (Sr., G)
Assists – Tevin Brewer 3.1 (Sr., G) (1.0 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 36-28
H: 21-11, A: 14-15, N: 1-2
Most Recent Matchup: 3/9/22 79-77 W at A10 Tournament
Most Recent Win Streak: 2 - URI
Match-up Predictor: 21.0% Chance of URI Winning